Best time for upcoming passport renewal?

[cruisemom42]

My current passport expires in April 2025; however I will need to get it renewed before travel that begins in late Sept 2024 (due to the length of that trip and the requirement of the country I will be visiting that my passport have at least 6 months leeway before expiration, not just at entry but for the length of stay).

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on the best time to submit for renewal? I could do it in late winter/early spring period before a European river cruise that starts in mid-April. Hate to do it that early, but it's the longest period I have between international trips. My other option would be the period between mid-May and mid-July (Norwegian fjords cruise), which is only 2 months and I suspect will be quite busy with summer in the mix.

 

The only other option is the period between the time I return from the Norway cruise until I leave for my Italy trip (late Sept) as mentioned above. But that's LESS than two months.

 

Should I just bite the bullet and do it in January, despite losing a full year of validity? 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by cruisemom42

[ColeThornton]

Passports aren't all that expensive and they are good for ten years.  Seems like a no-brainer to get it early in case of another government slowdown.

[YourWorldWithBill]

You can't renew until you're one year from the expiration date. Mine expires July 31, 2004, so I sent it in for renewal at the beginning of August. There is a serious backlog and slowdown at the State Department passport office, so it can take a very long time, but...

 

I think the best option is the Mid-May to July. The application process is structured so that you can pay extra for "urgent" or "priority" (I think those are the categories), but you also have to allow for time in the mail. I still needed to expedite mine, even though I have over three months. I used an agency that I had to pay to take care of it, since they guarantee that I'll get it in time. I figured the lack of worry was worth it. 

 

There is a government passport office in my city, but you can only used them if you are traveling within a couple of weeks, and you have to get an appointment by calling the national line, on which getting through is about like getting a ticket to the moon.

[cruisemom42]

Yikes, you cannot review more than a year in advance? That throws a spanner in the works. Hmmm...

 

@YourWorldWithBill can you share the name of the agency you used? I don't think it breaks any CC rules (unless of course it is also a travel agency).

 

How long is expedited service currently taking -- anyone know?

 

[YourWorldWithBill]

19 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Yikes, you cannot review more than a year in advance? That throws a spanner in the works. Hmmm...

 

@YourWorldWithBill can you share the name of the agency you used? I don't think it breaks any CC rules (unless of course it is also a travel agency).

 

How long is expedited service currently taking -- anyone know?

 

I used a local place that I remembered using (amazing that I can remember) several years ago. That way I was comfortable taking it in person and picking it up. There are some online services that do that, but I haven't used them. They all seem pretty busy. I'll put a link to one that I called, but I decided to go local.

 

This is a link to the State Dept. site for "get my passport fast." By the way, another reason to use a service: when there I wrote the check to Dept. of State, and they told me that won't work! It has to be Department of State. This tells you how long they take. You can send it directly to them, and if you use a service they will charge the same fees, plus their own fee, but hopefully they will promise you'll get it in time.   https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

 

This is one of the online services:  https://www.passportsandvisas.com/local-passport/

 

Don't worry, it can be done! It's just aggravating. The reason I found out there were problems was by  reading one of the threads here!

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by YourWorldWithBill
Change one word.

[Turtles06]

32 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

You can't renew until you're one year from the expiration date.

Apologies if I’ve missed that on the State Dept site, but do you have an authority to link to for that?  It’s my understanding that you can renew a valid passport at any time, but advice is commonly given to wait (if you can) till about a year or less out, so you don’t lose the months of validity you already paid for.* (But that’s just a weighing of pros and cons for each individual, under their specific circumstances.)

 

*See, e.g.: 

 

“Note that while you don’t have to renew your passport at any specific time (i.e. before or after it expires), you should be cognizant of the time it will take for renewal when planning your trips. …Your passport validity period restarts at the time of renewal. Therefore, if you renew your passport at 9 years (1 year of validity left), your passport will be good for 10 and not 11 more years. For this reason, you don’t want to renew too early.”

 

https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/us-passport-renewal-and-special-cases-guide/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[YourWorldWithBill]

2 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Apologies if I’ve missed that on the State Dept site, but do you have an authority to link to for that?  It’s my understanding that you can renew a valid passport at any time, but advice is commonly given to wait (if you can) till about a year or less out, so you don’t lose the months of validity you already paid for.*

 

https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/us-passport-renewal-and-special-cases-guide/

 

Wow, sorry about that, @cruisemom42. I had heard that it was one year and didn't know it could be done earlier. I wish I had known! 

[Philob]

I renewed mine about 2 years early so that the new one expires the same year as my 10-year Chinese visa. I didn't want to take two passport books: 1 expired passport book but with a valid visa and 1 new passport book.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Philob

[Turtles06]

11 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Wow, sorry about that, @cruisemom42. I had heard that it was one year and didn't know it could be done earlier. I wish I had known! 

Respectfully, this is why there’s so much misinformation on the internet. 

[navybankerteacher]

The last time I renewed was just about two years before my then-current one expired - so I don't know anything about not being able to renew more than a year early.   I chose that time (knowingly "wasting" a fair amount of its life} at a real cost of about $20.  I knew I had sufficient time before needing it, so I just bit the bullet.  It took a bit under six months for the new one to get to me.

 

Trying to squeeze full use out of an aging passport is a stupid bet -- if a need arises, you will spend a lot more $ on trying to hustle things -- or just have to delay wanted/needed travel. It is simple common sense to recognize, and allow for, the emerging incompetence of some elements of our government.

Edited August 9, 2023 by navybankerteacher

[StollyBolly]

I renewed mine in Aug 2022.   I paid to expedite both processing and delivery.  I’m thinking I had it back within a month.  If I recall there is a place on the form to enter when your travel begins and you need it processed?  Someone else may be able to answer that. 

[cruisemom42]

Well, that's good news. January 2024 it is.

 

[jsn55]

6 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Yikes, you cannot review more than a year in advance? That throws a spanner in the works. Hmmm...

 

@YourWorldWithBill can you share the name of the agency you used? I don't think it breaks any CC rules (unless of course it is also a travel agency).

 

How long is expedited service currently taking -- anyone know?

 

My nephew in Minneapolis and I in NoCA each submitted directly, paid for expedited service.  Only took a few weeks, maybe six; he was about 2 weeks ahead of me.  We both had the same reaction ... what a racket they've got going collecting all those expedite fees.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

6 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

I used a local place that I remembered using (amazing that I can remember) several years ago. That way I was comfortable taking it in person and picking it up. There are some online services that do that, but I haven't used them. They all seem pretty busy. I'll put a link to one that I called, but I decided to go local.

 

This is a link to the State Dept. site for "get my passport fast." By the way, another reason to use a service: when there I wrote the check to Dept. of State, and they told me that won't work! It has to be Department of State. This tells you how long they take. You can send it directly to them, and if you use a service they will charge the same fees, plus their own fee, but hopefully they will promise you'll get it in time.   https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

 

This is one of the online services:  https://www.passportsandvisas.com/local-passport/

 

Don't worry, it can be done! It's just aggravating. The reason I found out there were problems was by  reading one of the threads here!

 

They “promise” you? 
So what happens if they don’t get it back to you on time?

Not sure where the US State Department “online renewal” is at this point (the beta trial has been done for several months). But, if it’s a “go,” the only downside is that your existing passport becomes inactive the day they receive the renewal application. 
However, it does cut out any middleman and the notoriously lousy USPS (at least for getting it to the State Dept.).

[Turtles06]

4 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Not sure where the US State Department “online renewal” is at this point (the beta trial has been done for several months). But, if it’s a “go,” the only downside is that your existing passport becomes inactive the day they receive the renewal application. 
However, it does cut out any middleman and the notoriously lousy USPS (at least for getting it to the State Dept.).

This article says the online renewal test was paused in March, and that the State Dept “is currently working on system improvements based on user feedback and expects online passport renewals to become available nationwide later this year.“

 

https://travel.usnews.com/features/how-to-renew-a-passport-online

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by Turtles06

[Z'Loth]

On 8/9/2023 at 2:54 PM, YourWorldWithBill said:

You can't renew until you're one year from the expiration date. Mine expires July 31, 2004, so I sent it in for renewal at the beginning of August. There is a serious backlog and slowdown at the State Department passport office, so it can take a very long time, but...

 

Not true, that's for Global Entry.

 

My passport was set to expire in mid-September this year. When my scheduled cruise for last fall got cancelled in early August, 2022, I immediately got it renewed even though it was more than one year out because I had no travel planned at that point, so I took advantage of the normal processing time. 

 

Also, one thing to consider... you also have to get a new passport if you run out of "blank pages" for visa stamps. Some countries requires 2-4 blank pages (per state department), and you cannot get additional pages, you can only get a new passport with more pages in it.